"Now, somebody may have called the place in Bordentown and talked about claiming a ticket and perhaps somebody jumped to a conclusion," Hedinger said.

The winning numbers were 17, 29, 31, 52, 53 and Powerball 31.

The price of a Powerball ticket doubled in January 2012 from $1 a game to $2, which has accounted for the swelling jackpots.

"We redesigned the game and, with more money going into the game, the jackpot prize pool has doubled, so more people are playing because the jackpot is growing higher," Multi-State Lottery Association President Jim Haynes said.

Powerball is offered in 44 states and chances of striking it rich are one in 175,000,000, meaning a person is 25 times more likely to win an Academy Award.

But dreaming big is part of the Powerball fun, even for the more-than-80-million people whose tickets are now worthless.

"For $2, it's inexpensive entertainment and you can buy a part of the dream," Haynes said.